


Requiem for a dream in a changeling's heart

by SailorYue



Series: Trollhunter Nomura [6]
Category: Trollhunters (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Trollhunter nomura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-05 02:43:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15854601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorYue/pseuds/SailorYue
Summary: Do you know what a changeling truely wishes? It's time for Nomura to choose which side to be on.





	Requiem for a dream in a changeling's heart

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter was a pain, but hopefully it came out good for character development and such. Please read the other parts first! Also feel free to check trollhunter-nomura.tumblr.com for concept drawings and wips.

During her training later in the evening, or was it early in the morning? Nomura could not concentrate. Her mind clouded, racing, with thoughts of death. Her death, the destruction of Arcadia, death of everything and everyone come in just a few hours. She did not know what to do. She tried to pay attention to her surroundings, to the forge running her thru whatever Draal had programmed it for, but she really was not into it.

Draal meanwhile was off to the sidelines, piecing together his father's body. They had finally managed to retrieve all of the fragments from the canal above. It was rather sombre to do, thinking of his father. They were not close emotionally after his father took the mantle of Trollhunter. Sure he still trained him, but Kanjigar thought to protect his son by not showing any emotional ties. Draal shook his head to clear the sadness away. He would show his father great honor by finishing putting him together.

He looked over to check on Nomura's progress with the drill he had set and noticed she seemed unusually distracted. So much she did not realize the that floor had shifted, ready to dump her down to the caverns below. Acting quickly, he stopped what he was doing and rolled over to catch her just in the nick of time. He worked his way back to the entrance of the forge, deactivating the traps.

She stood in shock unsure of what just happened.

"That certainly was unlike you, Trollhunter. What has you distracted tonight?" Draal demanded, snapping Nomura out of her thoughts. 

She looked around finally aware of her surroundings.

"Oh..." She trailed off. "It's not something I really want to discuss here. It's a bit claustrophobic down here, if you get what I'm saying?"

Draal nodded in understanding.

"Well it is getting close to the time you usually head home, I can escort you if you'd like." He gestured to the doorway, and she nodded heading out.

Normally he would only take her as far as the glowing stairs, but he wanted to know what was on her mind so tonight he followed her out of Trollmarket. They walked some ways, to a nearby park. It was still a couple of hours before sunrise, but the sky was just starting to lighten.

It was quiet. Almost surreal. She sat on the nearest bench; Draal remained standing.

"So, what has you so distracted tonight?" Draal asked again.

Nomura decided to answer his question with another question.

"Draal, do you know what dreams lie within a changeling's heart?"

Draal looked at her confused. "What do you mean by that?"

She ran her finger over the face of the amulet, it's blue glow soft, it's hands twitching, ticking like a watch. She sighed. She really had no choice, so she told him. How Bular had collected all the pieces of the bridge. How she had helped in reassembling it. And how by sundown the next evening, the only piece missing was in her hand. 

Draal was understandably angry, and even punched a tree right from it's roots. Nomura barely flinched at his outburst.

"So this is your endgame isn't it? What you've been playing at this whole time?" He growled, trembling with anger.

She couldn't bring herself to look at him. She looked at the horizon, slowly growing lighter with the impending sunrise.

"No." Was her only answer.

Draal shook his head in disbelief.

"What, you just suddenly had a change of heart?"

She clenched her teeth. "When I found this thing, I SHOULD have turned it over. It would have been the smart thing to do. But I couldn't. Even now, with the eye stone first contact will be made with Gunnar in years. Chances are he will order the death of all changeling's in this town. We're replaceable. I would have been killed then and will be killed now."

Draal sneered. "So that's it then? You're just afraid?"

Nomura gave an exasperated noise. "Do you have rocks for brains? You're not getting it! I'll ask you again: do you know what dreams lie within a changeling's heart?"

Draal shook his head.

"I'll tell you. Acceptance. To belong somewhere. I'm no fool, to the gummgumms we are just tools, made to serve, expendable. We only know to fear whoever is in charge and to worship them. To troll kind that's what we are: tools of gummgumms. Spies. We don't belong in either world. After I found this, after becoming the trollhunter I finally belonged somewhere. People actually WANT me around. So no, thinking on it I WOULDN'T use this to release Gunmar!"

Draal crossed his arms. "So I have rocks for brains. But that time you said 'wouldn't'"

Nomura turned to him, confused. "What?" 

Draal approached her. "Before you said you couldn't, now you wouldn't. Even if it meant your life?"

Nomura found herself shaking her head.

"Why? Answer that, and we can move on."

Nomura looked down at the amulet, for the first time feeling it's actual weight. She looked out at the steadily lightening horizon.

"You said before, you would prevent history from repeating." She started; Draal nodding. She pulled out a scrap of parchment from her pocket, handing it to him. "Well, I want to do the same."

The paper was obviously torn from a book, on it was a drawing that almost looked familiar. The troll in the drawing was in action, holding a sword in each hand and shark-like teeth bared.

"It's not a bad rendition if I should say so. Though the only thing really wrong was the artist giving me four arms. I only vaguely remember the event depicted on that chapter, it was well before even your father becoming trollhunter. Some fight, plenty of fear. Either way, I want things to change to. I may not be able to change the past, but I can change the future."

Draal handed the page back to her.

"And how do you plan to do that?" He asked.

"I have an idea. It's risky as hell, and it will expose me on both sides." She gave him a devious grin. "But , there will be plenty of fighting." 

.....

Early in the evening, just hours from sunset, Bular, Strickler and another changeling by the name of Otto Scaarbach stood before the completed Killahwad bridge. Otto was ready to put the final piece on, the Eye stone.

"We are about to make history." He said almost giddy.

"Be quiet and hurry up, impure! " Bular growled. Otto bowed and climbed to the top of the bridge, inserting the final stone.

The bridge glowed an eery white light and a veiled doorway appeared to open. Within the smoke was a large shadowy figure. Bular knealt on one knee, followed suit by Strickler and Otto.

"Father!" He cried out, almost in pain.

"My son, it has been too long." The voice from the other side was deep, eerie so.

"We have finally finished the bridge, all we need now is the trollhunter amulet!"

The shadow shifted. "And where is the trollhunter now?"

Bular clenched a fist, "Whoever they are they have eluded me for months now. We have not been able to even identify the human who has it."

" The trollhunter is human?" Gunmar seemed curious. "Yet it seems the changelings are failing at such a simple task. Perhaps you should get more competent changelings? "

Strickler paled at the implications. 

" You're right father, I should get right on that."

Bular stood and pulled out his swords, backing Strickler to the corner.

"Bular, please..." Strickler started, knowing it was pointless.

Before Bular could act, their attention was drawn to a noise at the entrance of the room. Nomura stumbled in, looking very worse for the wear. Her arm hung limp at her side, possibly dislocated, and She had a bleeding cut on her cheek, which she had to coerce Draal to give her. It's not like she could have gotten a convincing one from Blinky or even the pacifist. 

"Nice of you to join us, Nomura." Otto said snidely. "You are just in time to have some fun."

Nomura acted in pain, leaning against the wall at the entrance of the exhibit. She bit back the smile, knowing he was far from wrong.

"You're late, impure." Bular growled, turning his attention to her.

"With good reason, Bular." She turned her hand upward to show the amulet. The others stared in shock.

"Merlin's amulet! How did you get that?" Otto asked the million dollar question, the blue light reflecting on his glasses.

Nomura shook her head, "The trollhunter was here last night. Wiped out the entire nest of goblins. I managed to get this in the fight. "

Well it was mostly true. Strickler slipped away from Bular and snatched the amulet from her hand. 

"My Lord with this we can take Arcadia!" Strickler shouted, holding the amulet out. 

While Bular insisted he would do the honor of freeing his father, Nomura quietly fixed her shoulder knowing the impending fight would go better if she had both arms. She just hoped her hunch was correct.

Once the amulet was inserted into the bridge, it seemed to react negatively. Rather than releasing the gummgumm king, the bridge seemed to reject the amulet all together, and it went flying out smacking Otto square in the face, shattering his glasses. The amulet rolled to a stop at Strickler's feet. He picked it up to look it over.

"Explain what happened, impure!" Bular shouted in the room, now dark and silence due to the bridge being rendered inert from the loss of the amulet.

"Daylight is... HER'S to command!? The trollhunter, it won't work without the trollhunter!" He said with urgency. " Nomura, where is the trollhunter, what did you do to her? "

Nomura rolled her shoulder to alleviate the stiffness. 

"Do to her? Interesting you should ask." She walked closer to Strickler. "I'm glad that my hunch was correct, that if anyone else were to use the amulet against my will, it wouldn't work. I found it funny how it happened, I mean seriously Scaarbach."

The pudgy changeling was still rolling on the ground clutching his face from the glass that pierced his eyes.

"Explain yourself impure, you try my patience." Bular said lowly, jumping from the top of the bridge.

"Explain? How about I just show you instead?" She held out her hand and recited the oath. To the surprise of at least two of the occupants of the room, she was suddenly adorned with the glowing blue armor.

"You?" Strickler asked in awe.

"How could an impurebe the trollhunter?" Bular growled, hatred in his red eyes.

Nomura shook her head as the sword appeared in her hand.

"Call me 'impure' all you want Bular, but I will still shove Daylight where the Heartstone doesn't shine." She gestured to the sword in her hand as she walked over to the entry way.

"You think you can take us both by yourself?" Strickler asked, shifting to his troll form and reaching for a handful of his feather quills.

"Of course not, that's why I brought this." She slammed the blade against the support rope, causing the curtainto fall revealing three other trolls: Draal, Blinky and ARRRGGGH.

"Traitor!" Strickler made a lunge for her, which Draal stopped. 

"I'll take care of this one!" He shouted knocking the smaller troll out of the way.

Good thing, because at the same time Bular made a move towards her with his twin swords both which Nomura narrowly parried. He swing both simultaneously, forcing Nomura to backflip out of the way. She was going to need a second sword in this fight. As she tried to get an opening, one of Bular's blows knocked Daylight out of her hand, which vanished as it skidded across the floor. Nomura did a few flips backwards to be out of the way, and instantly shifted to her troll form, armor shifting to accommodate the new form.

"Master Nomura what...?" Blinky trailed off at the sight.

"Don't worry about me, you and ARRRGGGH take care of the bridge!" Nomura shouted drawing her khopesh swords. Now she was more in her element, and it should make for a fairer fight.

"Ah... Right." Blinky and ARRRGGGH went towards the bridge. 

Bular charged towards her and she charged back, now on even grounds with fighting. As the fight wore on, her dodging and blocking blows, she found it hard to find an opening. Plus with the fight in the museum, there was supposed much going on, so many things getting wrecked, she had to get him out if the museum. It was a good thing she disabled the security cameras earlier that morning. She chanced a look out the window to see it still daylight, so instead she dove thru the maintenance hatch nearby. This would have been where Draal and the others got to the museum safely.

"You are pathetic Bular, you had victory within your reach, only to have it snatched away so easily." She taunted, before jumping down the hatch. She stood in anticipation waiting for Bular to come after, and after hearing his roar, she knew her comment enraged him.

The fight went on in the sewers, blow after blow on both sides blocked and parried. Nomura grew frustrated. She had to find an opening, but even so, her khopesh alone would do nothing to the gummgumm. She used the wall as leverage to jump over Bular, much like the first time she faced him as the trollhunter. In his momentary distraction, she pressed a hidden switch on her scimitar which released a foul green poison. With creepers sun she might actually win the fight. She threw one blade at him in an uppercut movement which he blocked easily, but left him open. She slashed low at his abdomen, and made contact. The khopesh snagged on his belt, but the poison made contact. It was far too soon to celebrate tho, as with a Bellow of rage he lunged at her, one hand on his open wound, stumbling thru a grate.

In the momentary quiet. Nomura picked up the fallen khopesh and followed him thru the opening. She saw nothing, heard nothing, as she went thru the opening and eventually finding herself in the canals. The sun was still up, but approaching sunset; the sky turning orange. She still saw no sign of the burly troll. She stuck to the shadows, ears turning to catch the slightest noise. 

Without warning a clawed hand wrapped itself around her throat, and in a fast movement shoved her into the sunlight. The sun's rays forced her to her human form. She clawed at the now stone hand wrapped tightly around her throat. Looking down she saw Bular at this point was half stone. The poison was acting slow.

"Your fool poison may finish me, but I will take final pleasure in eliminating you. And when I fall, I will be remembered. There will be nothing to remember you by impure." His voice was growing stiffer as the poison seemed to be reacting inward to out.

She was certainly running out of time. Her vision clouding, black spots bouncing around. She kicked at the air, futilely. She couldn't breath, and almost couldn't think. She suddenly had a revelation, remembering what Draal had told her not long ago. 'The armor and the blade is a mere extension of your body. You have to expect the unexpected, and learn to embody the armor. Force it to do what you want.' As her vision grew darker, she wanted to do anything to wipe the smirk of victory from the troll's face. She felt the warmth of the Daylight sword appear in her hand, and in her last seconds she slashed at the gummgumm, causing the arm wrapped around her throat to disconnect from the body. Before she lost total conciousness, she saw a bright explosion of his body being destroyed.

...

Draal followed the trail of battle thru the sewers to the canal. He looked around the area and noticed the pile of rocks nearby. Sticking to the shadows he approached the scene. He noticed the rocks were what remained of Bular, and it felt as if a weight had been lifted from his chest. But where was... He noticed her, lying in the sun, lifeless.

"Nomura!" He called out. 

He noticed her skin was almost the same color of her troll form's flesh. That was when he realized stone hand clenched about her throat. He heard a slight ticking sound too, realizing it was coming from the amulet, and it was slow. He had to act fast, taking note that she was in full sunlight. Without another moment's hesitation, he reached into the sunlight to grab her leg, feeling the burn of the sun pierce his right arm, and pulled her into the shade. Then he quickly crumbled the stone around her throat. Freeing her from it's grip. 

Within a few seconds, the amulet spun wildly before the whole of the armor glowed brightly, as if jump-starting her. Nomura jackknifed off the ground with a deep breath, curling in a tight ball, coughing to catch her breath. Draal barely registered the motion, as his dead arm was ripped off his body. Nomura sat up, trying to catch her breath. She took in her surroundings, realizing the half burnt half petrified remains of Bular around her. So she did manage to finish him, good. She rubbed a hand around her throat wondering how she got out of the choke hold. That's when she realized her company.

"Draal what are you..." She trailed off taking notice of his arm, or at this point, lack thereof. "What happened to your arm??!?"

Draal helped her to her feet. 

"Well, you were unconscious in the sunlight, I had to act quickly before you actually died." He rubbed at his shoulder. It hurt but didn't hurt.

Nomura didn't understand. She pinched her nose, her head had started pounding due to the sudden regaining of blood flow.

"But, why? If I'd died, you would have gotten everything you wanted. Bular dead, and a chance to be the trollhunter. I'm sure you would have been next in line!"

" It didn't seem right to become the trollhunter like that, it wouldn't have been right."

" Oh, suddenly your HONORABLE??" She shouted. 

Draal seemed to act sheepish. "I deserve that."

Nomura shook her head, rubbing her forehead. She really wasn't in the mood for this conversation right now. She held her hand up to just cut off the conversation.

"Forget it. Where are Blinky and ARRRGGGH?"

"They should be finishing moving the bridge to Trollmarket by now. The green changeling I was fighting managed to escape in the chaos."

Of course he did.

"Strickler was always a coward. What about the other changeling?"

Draal shook his head. "I did not see any other changeling's in the room."

That didn't make her happy, but atleast they got the bridge. 

"Terrific. We should get to Trollmarket."

She wasn't too happy, regardless of the victory. She didn't worry too much about Strickler, he was a sentimental fool who always got invested in his human life. Scaarbach was who she worried about, but that was for another day. They made their way to Trollmarket, Nomura's head pounding. She had a feeling her headache was going to get worse long before it got better.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment too! Now we're in full Canon divergence going forward!


End file.
